American TV Talk

20/08/2014

Having the fast paced, storyline of season 2 finally come to an end we saw Oliver Queen and Starling City's other heroes (and villains) rise up to take down Deathstroke and his army of super-powered troops. After such a climatic season we can only imagine what will come next to be able to match the hype that was built around season 2 of Arrow.

Yet with only a matter of weeks before the third season of Arrow kicks off it seems that we have been given so much information on whats in store for the season, who will come into the show and which iconic DC heroes and villains we are likely to encounter fans are thrilled and overwhelmed with juicy gossip and information. Therefore this post allows us to look at all of the information we have been given from the powers that be at The CW and allow fans to gain a further insight into some of the characters, themes and ideas that will be apparent through season 3 of Arrow.

16/08/2014

Should Mortal Kombat Go Gay? And Should It 'Rain' Men?

The idea of Mortal Kombat embracing homosexuality is a question that I have pondered over and internally debated for years now, and with more and more information being drip fed to use from Ed Boon and the team I thought when is a better time than now to utilise this post and raise the question should MK go Gay?

Mortal Komabat (for those deprived and unfornature ones of you don't know) is a gaming franchise that offers 'beat em' up' arcade style fighting games intertwined with intricate story lines, heritage and lineage. Mortal Kombat is a tournament held once in a generation, in which fighters from every realm participate within the tournament in the hopes of winning. As the losing realm is one step closer to being merged with the savage self-declared Emperor Shoa Khan's realm known as outworld. Ten losses to Shoa Khan and he can invade Earth Realm without any intervention from the Elder Gods. The franchise begins at the start of the tournament, which, if lost, would be Earth Realm's tenth loss. Allowing Shoa Khan to finally conquer Earth.

Within Mortal Kombat there are no Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual etc. characters found within any of the titles. This day and age most gaming franchises have incorporated elements of same sex relationships however not Mortal Kombat. Is this due to the extremely masculine nature of the game. Or could that open up more questions than answers, when contemplating the idea of men fighting men and the symbolism this carries e.g two men battling with their swords. So perhaps symbolically an academic or gaming novelist may be able to find elements of homosexuality, but nothing obvious to players.

Now within 2014 it is common to find gay relationships, gay characters and other LGBT themes within games. In the 1999 title Final Fantasy VII, there is a minor character at a bar whom, once conversation begins, heavily implies he is transgender. Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds, a game of the same named television show allows leading lesbian characters Willow Rosenberg and Tara Mclay to be fully playable characters within the game. And finally with 2011's award winning game Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a player is able to marry an character regardless of gender. So it seems that LGBT themes have slowly worked their way into games throughout the years but in 2014 we see no signs of this within this established franchise.

Throughout the internet interest and request for a gay kombatant has grown as the Mk Universe has. However as MK3 came out, LGBT themes were becoming more and more apparent and fans looked to new characters for this element. Male characters such as Rain and Nightwolf were often believed to be bi-sexual or homosexual, however this beliefs were never confirmed by Ed Boon. Yet we are now awaiting Mortal Kombat X, the tenth title in the series and still we see no LGBT kombatant...

The roots of homosexuality (and homosexual relations between warriors) predates Ancient Greek times. The idea that their armies and forces were superior to others was due to their passions among the warriors. As each warrior would have a fellow warrior battling for their lives, whom they cared very deeply for. Arguably enough to give their own life for the safety of their homosexual counterpart. This strengthened the army as a whole as the need to protect and/or avenge each other would be driving their motivations to defeat the other army.

The Gay Archetype/Kombatant

If we look at the Ancient Greek Epic Poem; The Illiad. The story of the war hero Achilles and the Trojan horse are shown to us through the words of Homer, we are shown themes of a homosexual nature within the relationship between Achilles and Patrocolus. This is where the idea for a possible Mortal Kombat character or at least Archetype came from: Patroclus.

The construct of Patroclus could give gamers and fans a further insight into the history of Ednia, by creating a male lover of the Edenian Prince who betrayed his realm. Patroclus (the name of the doomed Greek hero) is a being of nature, neither Edenian royalty nor the poorest Edenian man, remaining completely impartial and staying away from political disputes in the realm. Finding comfort only in the Forest. Rain, before the destruction of his realm, would visit the woods and seek confidence within Patroclus over time building a strong trusting friendship escalating to a sexual relationship hidden from the world. Rain would often nourish Patroclus' hidden home in the woods with water in order for Patroclus' personal realm to thrive. However, the day eventually came when Rain turned his back on Edenia along with Patrculus, betraying both of them. Offering them both to the Emperor Shoa Khan.

The woods were no longer nourished and attacked by the merge of the realms ultimately withered and died. Patrclus knowing the end was near, cocooned himself within the the main tree of the hidden forest he called home and suspended himself in life as an inanimate dying tree with his land. Until now an unknown force has released the sleeping warrior. Although his alliance is to nature and remains a neutral warrior, the scars of Rain's betrayal now drive his need for revenge. Creating a formidable opponent for both Rain and Shoa Khan.

This is only an idea for a character that incorporates homosexual themes, however a character like this could really give Mortal Kombat that extra element needed to reap a greater audience whilst gaining media coverage for embracing LGBT into the realms. But I suppose themes like this often take time to become part of a franchise, yet were still oping Ed Boon will incorporate homosexul themes into Mortal Kombat. Just as producers of iconic gaming franchises such as Final Fantasy and The Elder Scrolls have done so before him.

19/07/2014

Does everyone remember that unconventional wild child, chosen one, who wasn't Buffy Summers. Oh course you do! Everybody loved to hate and hated to love the complicated 'other' slayer who seemed to be in complete juxtaposition to Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Although Buffy held the weight of the world on her shoulders and literally died not once, but twice for the world Faith Lehane, for the majority of her time as a slayer took a much more relaxed approach. So with this in mind we will look at the things that would happen if Faith Lehane were president. Please remember these are completely hypothetical ideas of the actions of a fictional character, so please don't feel the need to live in a leather jacket or take the 'screw school' approach. But do be Five by Five...

14/07/2014

American Horror Story has successfully terrorfyied us for three consecutive years now and with the latest eerie trailer were presuming this will be the case for the fourth season.

Jessica Lange's (Constance, Sister Jude and Fiona Good) final season on the show will give, us for the last time, her iconic matriarchal role before she leaves Murphy and the cast behind. Freak Show will, like its predecessors, have a completely new and original theme and this season is The Carnival or as it was called in earlier years 'The Freak Show'.

Very little is known about this season- as many of you who follow American Horror Story (AHS) know that Ryan Murphy likes to keep his plans for this show very close to heart. But what we do know is that Lange's final character will speak with a German accent. There are a few other speculations however this is the only one that has been verified by Murphy himself.

So what do you think of the trailer? Angelic? Innocence? The act is called 'The Fallen Angel', does this represent Satin? What is this act meant to be? When it come to AHS we are always left with more questions than answers. So please comment with your ideas or theories!

American Horror Story: Freak Show is due to air in October this year on FX.

02/07/2014

The arrow spinoff show The Flash, (portrayed by the painfully attractive Grant Gustin) has been teased at us for months now, with characters from The Flash appearing in Arrow over the course of the last two months of the second season , and having the marketing materials slowly drip fed to us. The powers that be at The CW have gave us an extended trailer. Portraying what is to come in the pilot episode and the overall season, and showing us what to expect from Barry Allen: The Flash.

The trailer implies that the night Barry Allen got his powers, he may not have been the only one. The teaser shows us his team and a mysterious man whom seeks to recruit Barry and his team from, Star Lab, in order to search for other 'Meta-Humans' like himself. We see the death of his mother and the a first glimpse at The Flash's arch nemesis Zoom aka 'The Reverse Flash', who just happened to be the one who murdered Barry's mother. Honestly, theres just so much in this trailer (probably due to the five minute length)- but seriously, if you didn't want Arrow give this a watch and you'll be right up to 'speed'. And if you did, give it a watch anyway! It's worth it!

Oh and he casually woke up with a six pack... Now that's just not fair.

01/07/2014

For years there has been talk and meetings, pitches and ideas for a spinoff show from Buffy The Vampire Slayer focusing on everyone's favourite watcher Rupert Giles (Head). Of course our prayers weren't answered and the show never became reality like 'Angel' did, however all hope isn't lost.

After very little publicity this film has hidden under the radar. An innovative look at Vlad The Impaler (portrayed by Luke Evans), and his desperation to save his people and family; driving him to the darkness of the vampire. This film is a gothic reinvention mixed with a historical background - however the validity the films historical context is questionable. The film itself looks to be a great interpretation of Dracula looking for 'sympathy for the devil' which this two minute clip has easily managed. With the current gothic trend being dark characters and their pure intentions before corruption, this film is set to make us question everything literature, history and society told us about Dracula.

Finally a Dracula adaptation that involves, war, family, honour and of course supernatural elements; enriching mythology of the vampire and Dracula himself. This film could be set to be a huge blockbuster and success- providing it delivers. This type of adaptation has never been done before and I am very eager to see just how well the film does at the box office, however all we can do is wait!

Dracula Untold will be released in cinemas October 2014, due to delays.
Music by Lorde: Everybody wants to rule the World.